Google Pixel Fold fails durability test, trails Samsung's Galaxy Z Fold 4

[midian182]

Facepalm: A lot of reviewers have praised the Pixel Fold as being an improvement over the Galaxy Z Fold 4, but it seems one area where Samsung has Google beaten is durability. In JerryRigEverything's famous test, the Pixel Fold failed in spectacular fashion.

JerryRigEverything's Zach Nelson notes at the start of the video that none of Samsung's eight foldables have failed his test. The Galaxy Z Fold 4 put up a great showing, while the Z Fold 3 held up pretty well, too. The Pixel Fold, however, is a different story.

Nelson starts by revealing that the Fold doesn't open out perfectly flat without a little help from the user, even though Google says it opens to 180 degrees.

Beginning with the scratch test, the outer Gorilla Glass Victus starts showing scratches at level 6 on the Mohs scale of hardness with deeper grooves at level 7 – the same result as the Galaxy Z Fold 4 and Z Fold 3. The outermost plastic layer of the inner display, meanwhile, shows scratches at level 2, which is why foldable makers warn users to be careful with their fingernails while operating an open device.

We also see that the Pixel Fold closes completely flat with no visible gap. This is something the Galaxy Z Fold 4 can't do; however, the Galaxy Z Fold 5, which will be unveiled later this month, is expected to feature a teardrop hinge that allows it to shut completely flat, à la the Pixel Fold.

The chassis scratch tests yield familiar results, while the lighter test on the front display leaves a permanent mark after 16 seconds. What is unusual, though, is that placing the flame on the inner screen causes the Pixel Fold to shut down, something that JerryRigEverything has never seen in a decade of testing phones. The Fold then restarts with a warning that it turned itself off due to heat.

One area where the Pixel Fold holds up well is the dust test. Despite liberally covering the inside and hinge with debris and opening and closing the device, the phone continues to function. The fingerprint scanner keeps working even after being heavily scratched, too.

But it all goes wrong during the important bend test, which the vast majority of phones, even the folding ones, survive. Unlike Samsung's handsets, the Pixel Fold doesn't have a lockout mechanism to prevent it from being bent the wrong way, which means Nelson doesn't have to apply a massive amount of pressure to destroy the center screen.

The results suggest a bad look for Google, which says that the Pixel Fold has the most durable hinge ever, but Nelson points out that the hinge is still in one piece: it's the rest of the phone that failed.

Permalink to story.

https://www.techspot.com/news/99307-google-pixel-fold-fails-durability-test-trails-galaxy.html

 

[wiyosaya]

Google trying to keep up with the Jones'

 

[kiwigraeme]

Really this tells us what we already know - don't buy gen 1 - same with fold gen 1- Though can work in your favour in some countries - eg pick up last stock at big discount - after gen 2 has hit market - hope if fails 6 months later get gen 2 as replacement - Easy in my country , probably all western europe .
That seems to happen with TVs get newer model

 

[Theinsanegamer]

It never ceases to amaze me how google keeps failing to make decent hardware, when there were so many examples of how to do it properly. Just like how they cannot figure out how to get decent battery life out of their phones compared to Samsung or Motorola designs.

 

[Mr Majestyk]

Google make the worst hardware around and this has been true since the Nexus days. At least Nexus devices were cheap, now we have premium prices and still 4th rate products. Would touch a google device with a 10' pole.